The Twelve Gifts of Christmas
by Meulin's Disciple
Summary: Alice and Decus are forced to vacation in a cabin on the outskirts of Flanoir. When they get snowed in, things get intense. Fast. Maybe vacationing with Decus won't be as bad as Alice thought... Dedicated to Dr. Bob. "M" for lemon in the last chapter.


**_A/N:_**_ Woo! I FINALLY finished did the first chapter of "The Twelve Gifts of Christmas!". I'm so ashamed... I've been meaning to do this fic since before last Christmas... OTL_

_..._

_Okay, ashamed moment is over! XP_

_Now, before I finish up the Author's Note, I'd like to state **that this admittedly short fic is dedicated to Dr. Bob, an awesome Dekuari author. I'm actually kinda embarassed because I have yet to catch up on his work... OTL (again...). We have actually communicated to a degree and I'd also like to say that if it weren't for him, this fic would still only be in my mind. He was definitely a great source of motivation, and he has asked me on more than one occasion about this fic because, let's face it, there IS a COMPLETE LACK of Dekuari fics on this site! Now don't get me wrong; I'm not writing this because he asked me about it-I WANT to write this. So, in short, Dr. Bob, you are awesome, you rock, you rule the Dekuari school, you kick ass, and this fic is for you. ;3**_

_Basically, this fic will span through twelve chapters, with Alice and Decus bonding in each chapter, ending with a lemon in Chapter 12. I can't say for sure at the moment, but most chapters will probably be around 1,000 words or less. This is only a prediction. Who knows? The next eleven chapters may actually be more than 1,000 words each. You never know! XD_

_Anyway, enough of my rambling. Please read, enjoy, and oh! You know that blue link at the end of the chapter that has the word "review" in it? Well, it'd be appreciated it you could drop me one of those when you're done! =P_

_Before I forget (because I ACTUALLY remembered this... o3o)_

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I do NOT own Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, or any elements from either game-namely Alice and Decus. Hell, I can't even find my copy of the original ToS (I'm so sad... D=)! Please don't sue me! The only money I get on a regular basis is a weekly $7.50 allowance! -_-_

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**_The Twelve Gifts of Christmas_**

**_By: Crescent Yuna_**

**_First Gift: Luck_**

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"Achoo!"

Decus wiped his dripping nose with his glove, shivering slightly as he traversed the eternally snowy terrain of the wastelands surrounding Flanoir with Alice. He stopped for a moment to stroke his arms in a vain effort to warm them. Normally, he minded the cold as much as Alice did, which wasn't much at all, but with a fever wreaking havoc on his sense of hot and cold, well…

"Hurry up, or I'm leaving you behind!" Alice called out, never stopping or turning around, though she slowed her pace by some miniscule amount to offer Decus the faintest hope of catching up.

"C-coming, my dearest!" Decus sped up his pace, so much so that he tripped over his own feet in the deep snow and fell face first into the freezing white powder.

"Useless…"

Decus looked up from his place in the snow to see Alice in front of him, clearly disgusted. Alice let out a very unladylike snort and shook her head before continuing to walk the wasteland. After several attempts to stand up—most of which ended with him having a mouthful of snow—Decus was able to get up and sprint, rather clumsily, to Alice. Alice grumbled something about Brute and bashing his skull in with a… very…. pointy… chunk of… rock—or ice… Whichever was more convenient.

After all, it _was_ his fault they were freezing their asses off (Decus more so than Alice); it seemed that even under the influence of the Centurion core, Brute had made a special place in his heart for the holidays.

_~Flashback~_

"What_?" Alice cried disbelievingly. Her jaw had very nearly crashed a hole in the floor upon hearing Brute's latest set of orders._

"_You heard me right, Alice. Decus and yourself are to, quite simply, take a vacation. The entirety of the Vanguard is being given mandatory time off, not just you two!" Brute explained jovially._

"_But-but-but, with _him_?" Alice couldn't help but exclaim, pointing an accusatory finger in Decus' general direction._

"_No 'buts', Alice. You are to take a vacation, with Decus, for the next two weeks, and that's _final_." Brute's tone left no room for more questioning._

"_Well, where do you expect us to take a vacation, huh? It's not like we can just buy a season pass at Altamira!" And Alice had a point; members of the Vanguard were, more often than not, not welcome in several towns and cities (unless they used force)._

"_I thought ahead." Brute told them, "A log cabin has been prepared for you two."_

"_Dare I ask just_ where_ this log cabin is…?"_

"_About a mile away from the outskirts of Flanoir."_

_Alice couldn't hold back the insane twitch in her eyebrow, "So _you're _telling_ me_ that I'm going to be stuck with _Dumbo Decus_ for _two weeks _in the middle of_ nowhere_?"_

"_That's exactly what I'm telling you, Alice." Brute sighed, no longer in the mood to deal with the general's whining, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have my _own_ holiday plans to make."_

"_But _sir-" SLAM! _The door loudly banged against the threshold as Brute left his office. Alice whipped around angrily to face Decus, who had a pitying look on his face._

"_Alice, if there's _anything_ I can do to help…"_

"_You can 'help' by annoying me as little as possible for the next two weeks!" Alice snapped, "It's bad enough I have to put up with you only a few hours a day; two weeks straight is going to be absolute _hell_…" she grumbled under her breath; Decus heard every word, but he didn't let it show._

_~End of Flashback~_

"… This is _it_…?" Alice said flatly, observing the average-sized cabin in front of her.

"Heh… Home sweet home for the next two weeks.." Decus chuckled and then boldly slung an arm around Alice's shoulders. Alice elbowed him in the stomach—she was stronger than she looked—causing Decus to double over in pain for a moment before giving a halfhearted thumbs-up. Alice walked away to survey what they were to call their living space for the duration of their vacation.

Just as Decus recovered from the none too serious blunt trauma, a shrill scream pierced the air. _Alice!_ He rushed to the adjacent room to see Alice absolutely livid, her eyebrow twitching fiercely. "Are you _kidding me_?"

"What's wrong?" Decus pressed, concerned. Alice ferociously pointed to the problem.

There was only one bed. One _full-sized_ bed, obviously meant for two people.

_As if having to go on vacation with _Dumbo Decus _wasn't bad enough!_

…

_Someone is going to _pay_ when this is all over…_


End file.
